The history of the sandwich can be traced not only through that particular moment when it was put together as a whole, but through its component parts as well — particularly the bread — as well as similar meals from which were its inspiration. Though the creation of the sandwich in 1762 is attributed to the Earl of Sandwich, John Montagu, who required a convenient meal without having to leave the gambling table, other similar concoctions using flatbreads and pita with meat filling were already in existence.
In the Encyclopedia of Food and Culture edited by Solomon H. Katz and cited in The Food Timeline website, Montague must have taken inspiration from these pita sandwiches, which were part of the traditional Greek and Turks meze tables (small plates) during his travel to the Mediterranean.
Likewise, it must have been his trip to France that inspired the meal. According to the British Sandwich Association, in their history of the sandwich, “some records suggest that the idea came when he made a visit to France in 1748 and discovered that by law French landowners were responsible for providing their field workers with a noon-time meal. The most common meal sent out to the fields was meat, potatoes, vegetables and sauce between 2 thick slices of bread.”
Other versions of the early sandwich include the creation of Rabbi Hillel the Elder during the 1st century in Palestine. According to the British Sandwich Association, the rabbi’s sandwich was made with matzoh (“hard biscuits baked with ground nuts”) and spread with “a mixture of nuts, apples, spices and wine.” But the earl of sandwich did help propagate the term for this light meal in the United Kingdom, which has since travelled to the United States and elsewhere.
The British Sandwich Association celebrates the 250th year of the sandwich from 1762-2012. Through the decades after the bread loaf sandwiches became commercially available as well as the baguette and similar breads entered the mainstream, various types of sandwiches were invented in diners, hotel kitchens, restaurants and homes.
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